Respect
by Llyxius
Summary: (For Spruceton Spook.) Ash is always trying to learn more about pokémon, but sometimes the lessons are harder and scarier than he realized. To understand them, he needs the support of someone who knows exactly how he feels.
1. Part One

Respect

This story is set during the Johto League and defies characterization.This part is mostly comic, but more serious moments will come in the later chapters.I will not rate each chapter, but overall, the story is rated PG for slight language and violence.

**_ _**

**_Respect_**

_Part 1_

"Ash Ketchum, you are disgusting!" Misty yelled, braining the poor boy with a quick smack of her hand."What is it with boys and their obsession with spitting?Yuck!"

"Good grief Misty, would you chill?" Ash said, groaning.He rubbed his sore head, allowing himself to grimace in irritation.That smarted."You always overreact.It's just a _game."_

"I don't care what you call it, it's still the most disgusting, despicable, vile, crude, revolting, nasty..."

Ash rolled his eyes. Misty was slightly older than him and consequently had a bigger vocabulary, her supposed proof of what she claimed was her superior intelligence.She had dozens of adjectives in her lexicon for Ash—none of them complimentary.Right now she was naming off her favorites.

"....gross, offensive, uncultured, obscene, disgusting..."

"You said that already," he broke in.

"Well, it is!" Misty sputtered, turning an angry shade of red."Why would I want to play a game of spit with you?Just swallow it—yuck!"

Ash almost kept himself from laughing, then realized—why not?Misty's face darkened even more at the first snicker and was practically scarlet when he burst out with a full-fledged guffaw.

"IT'S NOT FUNNY!" She yelled.

"Yes, it is."He was still chuckling.

"Ash Ketchum, you are the most obnoxious, insolent, arrogant, rude..."

Ash decided he'd better quit while he was ahead."Misty, it's just a game," he said once more, and even as she opened her mouth to reply, he cut her off in clarification."A _cardgame.It's just called Spit.You don't actually __spit or anything," he said, shaking his head in amusement._

The angry red on Misty's face quickly turned to the bright pink of embarrassment.

"But of course, if you're suggesting that we have a contest to see who can spit the farthest, I'd be more than happy to take you up on it..."

"Oh, shut up!" Misty glared at him."I take back everything I said—because you're ten times worse than that!Any game named after drool can't be that great anyway.And have you forgotten we're supposed to be helping Professor Oak?"

"It is too fun.And have you forgotten that our absent-minded professor went to town earlier and forgot to leave us any instructions?" 

"He'll be back soon," Misty grumbled."We should act responsibly—though I can see how that'd be hard for you—and try to do something useful before he gets back."

Ash didn't bite, because he didn't have to."Like what?" he challenged.

"Like...like..." Misty searched her mind, having almost forgotten that, as the dissenter, she now had to come up with her supporting argument."Like cleaning the house."

Ash looked around at the living room that Brock had cleaned less than an hour ago.He simply raised his eyebrows.

"Well, he couldn't have cleaned the whole house!" she defended herself.

Ash gave her an incredulous look."We _are talking about the same Brock here, aren't we?"_

"Okay, bad idea," she grudgingly admitted."He could have.But still, there's got to be something else we can do!"

"Like play a game of Spit?"

"Would you stop with that stupid card game!" Misty yelled.

"It's not stupid.You're the one acting dumb about it," Ash said, finally miffed by her continued complaints.Misty resorted to a common yet failsafe comeback.

"Am not!Take that back!"

"Are too!You take it back!"

"You!"

"You!"

"You..."

"HEY!"

The last stopped them both mid-shout, as it was spoken with the confidence and authority that comes only with adulthood.Startled, they both looked over to the doorway from where it originated.

"What's going on here?" Professor Oak asked in a calmer voice.

"Told ya so," was Misty's only reply, sticking her tongue out at Ash, who promptly stuck his out back.The duel sigh at this, as well as condescending laughter, was what made Ash and Misty realize for the first time that the Professor wasn't alone.

The fact that their gaze flicked right over Brock, who had echoed the Professor's sigh, wasn't meant as an insult to their friend.Their attention was simply captured by their unexpected visitor because he was so...well, unexpected.

"Look who I managed to find in town."Professor Oak said, smiling at the surprise he had brought them.He was the only one happy about it, though to the others' credit, Ash was the only one who voiced his displeasure.

"Gary?" Ash groaned."What are you doing here?"

"Besides visiting my grandfather?" Gary said, a 'duh' written all over his face."Or do you mean why am I not training?"

"It _is what Pokémon trainers do," Ash retorted._

"Not that you would know, with your lazy attitude."Gary smirked."For your information, I am training.I've already had five battles in the past week.But since my journey brought me to within a days' distance from Pallet town, I decided to drop in to get some one-on-one training with a pokémon expert."

"Who, me?Aww, shucks Gary, you're making me blush."Ash grinned.

"My grandfather, you idiot!For that matter, what are you doing here?Besides slacking off."

"None of your business," Ash said haughtily.

"He's doing the same thing as you are, visiting," Misty helpfully provided."But you're right, he's been pretty lazy.He hasn't done anything the last two days."She received a dirty look from Ash for her efforts, and was more than happy to return it.

"I have too," he growled.

"Let's see, you've eaten all day, slept, and buried yourself in pokémon comics and TV shows...oh, excuse me, I was wrong.You've been a very busy boy," she said playfully.

"They weren't comics!It was all research!" Ash protested.

"Sure it was."

"It was!"

"Was not."

"Was too."

"Was not!"

"Was too!"

"Was..."

The three in the doorway shook their heads."They go in circles," Brock sighed, "just like our trips through the forest."

Gary looked over at Brock in apparent confusion."Tell me again why you choose to travel with this?"The three watched as the fight disintegrated into a raspberry war.

Both the Professor and his grandson nodded in sympathy as Brock replied, rolling his eyes."Sometimes, I have forgotten." 

***

The fight ended when Brock declared that he knew how to break it up.

"Lunch is ready!" he announced.

"Good, I'm hungry."Ash immediately walked away from the fight and towards the kitchen.

"You always are," Misty said, but she followed him.

"You could have done that earlier," the Professor advised Brock.

"Yeah, but it's more entertaining this way," Brock said, then assumed his role as undisputed master chef as he led the way to the kitchen. Spread out on the table was a smorgasbord of delectables that he had laid out before being forced to temporarily take a break and play referee.The food was impressive, not for its gourmet difficulty—not that Brock wasn't capable of it—but for its sheer quantity.The entire tabletop was covered with sandwich stuffs, vegetable dips, cheese wedges, and the like.Everyone burst into impromptu clapping, minus Brock, who smiled and nodded his head, modestly accepting the praise.

"I don't know why you stick with them, but I can see why they stick with you!" Gary said.

"And what's that supposed to mean..." Ash began angrily.Brock decided it might be a good idea to 'accidentally' interrupt him.

"Well, lunch is served!"

"Alright, let's dig in!" Ash exclaimed, only to get jerked back by the collar.He turned to see Misty wagging her finger at him.

"Aren't you missing something?"

"Uh...hey, where's Pikachu?

As if on cue, the electric pokémon wandered into the kitchen, still rubbing the sleep from his eyes.In spite of having just woken from a nap, Pikachu was just like his trainer. He had a sixth sense of when food was being served and never failed to appear at the beginning of a meal.He hopped happily onto Ash's shoulders and let out contented "pi" when Ash rubbed the base of his ears affectionately.

"Have a good nap?" Ash asked, patting his pokémon on the head.

Togepi toddled in right after, and Misty picked up the baby pokémon and hugged it to herself.It gave an excited "Toki!" then curled right up to go back to sleep again.

"Togepi will wake up when we eat," Misty said, smiling and rocking it gently.

"We should let the other pokémon eat now, too," Ash said.He reached for his poké-belt."Alright everybody, come on ou—"

"Ash!"Brock and Misty reprimanded at once.

"Don't you have any sense?" Misty said.

Brock was more direct with his objection."Don't you have Snorlax with you?What do you think that's going to do to the Professor's house?"

"Oops.Sorry, Professor."Ash was appropriately embarrassed.Professor Oak just shook his head.

"I have a suggestion," he said."Why don't you just take everything outside and have a picnic lunch?The pokémon will have plenty of room on the reserve, and it's a beautiful day outside."

"Great idea!"Misty said, then looked at the clock and furrowed her brow."Professor Oak, wasn't Tracey supposed to be back by now?"

"He usually runs about a little late getting back from his errands," the Professor said."Which is not because he isn't conscientious...he just has a tendency to get distracted on his way back.You wouldn't believe some of the sketches he's shown me from his trips..." he mused.The kids exchanged a look, not able to figure out if the Professor was talking to them or himself."Anyway, I'll just send him out when he gets back," he finished.

"We'll save some lunch for him," Misty said, and punched Ash lightly on the shoulder."Assuming Snorlax here doesn't eat everything before he gets back."

"I'll keep Snorlax in his poké-ball," Ash protested.

"I was talking about you."

"I don't eat that much!Besides, I'm a growing boy!"

"Emphasize the 'boy,' part," Misty snickered."You're still a baby."

"I am not!"Ash said hotly.

"I'm taller than you."

"So?You're older than me!"

"All the more reason for you to listen to me!"

"Shut up!"

"You shut up!"

"You!"

"You!"

Gary stared at them with a slightly puzzled expression on his face.Brock just ignored them and started packing the picnic basket."Want to give me a hand here?" he asked Gary, who willingly obliged.

"Don't they ever get tired of that?"

"Do Snorlax get tired of sleeping?Do Jigglypuffs get tired of singing?" Brock asked rhetorically.

"But not five minutes ago..."Gary trailed off.

"Has it been that long?Wow, they've set a record," Brock said mildly."Come on, help me finish packing the baskets.They'll stop when we go outside or they won't get any food."

"You drive a hard bargain," Gary said."I'm impressed."

"Survival of the fittest, man, survival of the fittest."

***

Luckily, both tempers and hungers were appeased when they went outside.Ash and Misty appeared to call a temporary truce and Gary, wary of Brock's retribution, decided to at least act cordial to Ash lest he be denied any food.They walked towards the north end of the reserve, where there was a stream that the water pokémon liked to play in.Misty was anxious to see an aberrant Tentacruel the Professor told her about that, instead of hanging around deeper waters like most of its kind, preferred to play Peek-a-Boo with the other pokémon among the shallower end.

The Professor had given his approval of their destination with one caution."Stay away from the Houndour pen at the Northwest corner of the property," he said firmly.

"Yes sir," three of the kids agreed.

"You have a houndour?"Ash said excitedly, only to be smacked by Misty."Ow!I mean, of course, Professor."

"I mean it, Ash, " the Professor said, his face holding an uncharacteristically stern expression."This houndour is extremely wild.Park officials in the Cobalt forest—the one above the Indigo Plateau—caught it and brought it to me in hopes that I could channel its aggression.It had been wounding pokémon up in the mountains, and they were afraid that sooner or later it would attack a trainer.But it hasn't been responding well to my trainings.I'd just as soon you stay as far away from it as possible."

"I promise, Professor," Ash said.

"And we all know how good Ash's word is," Misty mumbled, soft enough that only Ash could hear it.He narrowed his eyes at her.

"Which means?" he asked back, once again keep his volume low so that the others couldn't tell they were having a conversation .

"B—i—k—e."She mouthed the letters.

"I keep my word!I'll pay you back...eventually."He flushed, and Misty started giggling.The others looked at them curiously and Ash quickly tried to distract them before they asked for an explanation."So, are we going or not?"

"And where should I tell Tracey you went?" Professor Oak asked.

"The flower beds," Gary said."After all, we need to make sure Snorlax is released in an area that it's okay to devastate."

"DON'T TOUCH MY FLOWERS!" the Professor yelled.

Everyone hastily agreed to make a trek to the stream instead.

They reached the stream, the blanket was unfurled, the food was unpacked, and then there was only one problem left.Seating arrangements.Anywhere he put Ash, Brock realized, he was going to be catty corner to one of his antagonists.

Of course, preventing a fight, no matter where Ash sat, would take a miracle...

"Hey guys!"

_Aha!Another referee!Brock thought.Now that was a miracle in itself._

"Hi Tracey!Long time no see!"Ash started waving exuberantly.Misty grinned at him and waved as well.

"What do you know, the slumber party's all here," Gary said, rolling his eyes.

"Slumber parties are for girls," Ash said, wrinkling his nose at the thought.

"And who said that was inappropriate?" Gary smirked.

"Take that back!"

"Make me!"

"And what's wrong with being a girl?!"Misty shoved her way between them, narrowing her eyes angrily.Ash knew from experience a pounding wouldn't be far behind.Evidently Gary could sense this as well.

"Nothing," they both said hastily, backing away from her.

"Uh...is it time for lunch?" Tracey asked, laughing nervously.

"Sure is," Brock said."But let's take care of the pokémon first.Ash..."Four heads turned to him.

"I know, I know.Gary, do you know where I can let Snorlax out so that he doesn't eat all our food before we do?"

"Of course. The Snorlax groves," Gary said matter-of-factly."They're not very far away, either.It'll take less than five minutes to get there.Come on, I'll show you where they are.Don't start without us," he said flippantly to the others as they started walking off.

"Yeah, right.Like that would ever happen."Ash snorted at the thought.

"You have hope, as long as you don't take too long.Don't forget, we've still got to take care of the pokémon," Brock said."Here, let us borrow them while you're walking, and we'll go ahead and feed them."

They did, though Ash kept Snorlax for the obvious reason, and Pikachu stayed on Ash's shoulder.He'd eat when his trainer did.

They had barely made it three steps away when they noticed they weren't alone.Misty was right at their heels, juggling the still sleeping Togepi in her arms.

"What are you doing?" Ash asked.

"Somebody's got to keep you two from fighting," she said, and Brock and Tracey exchanged looks of amazement at this role reversal.Misty ignored them.She wasn't sure why she felt compelled to come, but there was no reason why she shouldn't."Besides, the Snorlax groves sound neat."

"What about the Tentacruel?"

"I can always see it after lunch."

Ash and Gary shrugged their shoulders and the three set off towards a nearby hill. "Why are you bringing that egg?" Gary asked.

"Because it will cry if it wakes up and Misty's not there," Ash said.He shuddered."And believe me, you don't want that to happen."

They reached the top of the hill, and just as Gary had said, they could see the Snorlax groves laid out beyond it.Trees with various fruits (all the kinds that Snorlax were partial to, Ash noted) decorated the landscape.Here and there flowers dottedthe trees instead of fruit.The casual observer might think the fruit simply hadn't bloomed yet, and while Ash knew this was true, he also knew that with this particular tree, the snorlax actually preferred the blossoms to the fruit.Strangely enough, his Snorlax, who ate like nobody's business with almost everything else, was picky when it came to these flowers and would only eat them if they were for dessert.

"Snorlax, go!" Ash released his pokémon as soon as he saw the trees.Snorlax looked up, rubbed his eyes groggily, and then blinked at what he saw in front of him.The three kids laughed at the fast trot the normally lazy pokémon quickly assumed, then they set out after him at a more leisurely pace.

"This is really great," Ash admired."I didn't know this was here.Snorlax is going to love it.Then again, I bet Professor Oak has brought him here before, when I had to transport him to the Professor's lab while I was on my journeys."

"I think your Snorlax is the main reason Grandpa maintains the upkeep on it," Gary said."Sometimes various pokémon reserves and zoos send him a few for treatment or research, but yours is the only regular visitor.Your Snorlax is really cool, Ash," Gary complimented suddenly.Ash brightened.

"Thanks," he said.He scratched his head."I just try to keep him happy.You know how Snorlax are.Of course, the Professor has him almost as much as I do.A pokémon trainer is only as good as the people behind him...or her," Ash added at Misty's glance.She smiled but was busy setting Togepi down, as it was beginning to wake up and was wiggling in her arms.

"And my grandfather is the best," Gary added proudly.

"I'll say," Ash said."I don't know where we'd be with out him."

Gary snickered."Well, I think it's safe to say that at least I would be nonexistent."

"Gary!I don't even want to _think about that!" But Ash had to laugh.Even if his face did turn bright pink._

"Amazing," Misty said, mock seriously."You two are agreeing over something?"

"What?" Ash asked."We've talked before without fighting."

And then Gary's typical smirk returned."This is the first time I remember," he said.

"We have too," Ash said.

"Have not."

"Have too."

"Have not!"

"Have too!"

"Have..."

"This is unbelievable!" Misty yelled."You're fighting about fighting?"

Ash looked surprised at the interjection."But Misty, you and I do it all the time."

"No we don't," Misty said in exasperation. 

"Yes we do."

"No we don't."

"Yes we do!"

"No we don't!"

"Told you so!"

"ARGH!"Misty's face was a mottled shade of red."Ash Ketchum, you are the most insolent, ridiculous, moronic, pig-headed..._boy," she spat out, giving him a glare that said that even bug pokémon weren't as low as him, "that I have ever known!"_

"PIKA PIKA PI!" Pikachu dove between the two frantically.

"Well he is!" Misty sputtered.

"That's not what he's saying," Ash said, turning serious."He's worried about something.Come again, buddy?"

Pikachu took a deep breath."Pika pika pi!"The others looked to Ash for translation.

"He said...where's Togepi."Ash nodded in satisfaction, proud of having such strong bond with his pokémon.

"What?" Misty squealed, and Ash bolted upright, his words finally sinking into his own head.

"What a minute, where's Togepi?" he shouted.

Misty grabbed Ash by the collar of his shirt and shook him."If Togepi is lost it's _your fault!" she yelled._

"My fault!" he yelped."How can it be my fault?"

"I don't know!It just is—it always is!" 

"That's not fair..." 

Ash tried to protest but Gary cut him off.Shaking his head, the older boy suggested, "Why don't we just look for it?"

"Look for it.Good idea," Misty said, temporarily dismissing her grudge."Let's split up.I'll go south, Gary goes west, and Ash and Pikachu go north.I don't think it would have gone east, that's where we just came from.I would _hope we would have seen it then.Then again, you'd think we wouldn't let Togepi get lost in the first place," she said in distress._

"Don't worry, Misty," Ash said, his voice surprisingly compassionate. "We'll find it.Come on, Pikachu.Let's go looking.TOGEPI!" he called for it."Togepi, where are you?"  
He set off farther into the trees, and could hear Gary and Misty echoing his cries.He furrowed his brow.The trees were spaced a fair distance apart.Despite his inner compass, it would be hard to get lost, because everywhere he went, he could see one edge of the grove.How far could Togepi get in this forest?It was like he had just disappeared...

"AAAAAARRRRGGGGH!'"

Ash screamed as something humongous stepped out in front of him, blocking his path.He ran headlong into it and quickly scurried back, then rolled his eyes."Snorlax, it's just you.Sheesh, how did you manage to sneak up on me like that?Something as big as you shouldn't be able to hide behind a tree!"

Snorlax just looked at him with squinted eyes.Ash sighed.

"Oh, never mind, I've got to keep looking for Togepi...hey, wait!Have you seen Togepi?" Ash only received another blank look."You know, the little egg pokémon?" Still no response."You know, the annoying little thing that goes like this?"He cleared his throat."Prrrrrriiiiii!"

"Pika pika..." Pikachu fell off Ash's shoulder, laughing at his trainer's pathetic impersonation attempt.

"Oh, shut up," Ash said crossly.Then his eyes widened, and he said triumphantly, "See, it worked."

"Snore?"Snorlax's ears stuck straight up and he placed his feet in the fifth position, straight out to either side.He stuck his arms up in the air and waved them back and forth in unison in a metronome pantomime."Snore?"

"Yes, Togepi!Where is it?" Ash said excitedly.

"Snore!" 

Snorlax's face broke into a wide grin, and lifted his arm as if to point Ash in the right direction—and then pointed directly to his mouth.

"_No!_Snorlax, you _didn't!"Ash asked, horrified._

"Snore!"Snorlax nodded in satisfaction as he rubbed his tummy, a dreamy expression on his face.Ash fell over.

"Oh my God, you couldn't have!Do you know what you've done?"Ash gripped his hands to his head in dismay.

"Snore?" Snorlax gave him a diffident look.Ash leaned against his pokémon's great tub of a stomach and buried his face in Snorlax's fur.

"What am I going to tell Misty?" he moaned."She's gonna _kill me!She's gonna freakin' __kill me!"_

Snorlax patted his trainer's head sympathetically, still happily oblivious to the stress he was causing, and Ash moaned again.

"Thanks, but no thanks," he muttered."Oh Togepi...even you didn't deserve that death..."

"Priiiiii?"

Pikachu's ears perked, but Ash paid no attention to the sound."I know, I know..." he said."I made fun of you, I said you had no powers, but I was just playing around.You know, me and Misty do it all the time.Since you were her pokémon, I must have thought you were just an extension of her..."

"Priiiiii?"

"...but I didn't mean it, really.I should have protected you...

"Priiiiii?"

"Pika..." Pikachu tried to tug on Ash's leg but Ash brushed him off absentmindly.

"...I know how Snorlax is when he gets in these moods.I swear, he tried to eat _me once.Granted, I was dressed up like a giant apple...but you didn't choose your own appearance.You were just a baby..."_

"PIKA PIKA CHU!"

"...I should have...what, Pikachu?!"

Pikachu pointed.Ash followed his pokémon's gaze through the trees, out past the edge of the grove, and out into the middle of a giant field.And there, waving exuberantly, was a clueless, perky, and very much alive, Togepi.

"TOGEPI!" Ash was so relieved he forgot to be annoyed that it had run away."How'd you get all the way over there?Never mind, let's just get you safely back before Misty stresses out even more.HEY GUYS!"Ash yelled as loud as he could, the effort causing a slight tickle in his throat which he ignored."I FOUND HIM!Go see if you can find them."The last was directed to Pikachu in a normal, if not slightly hoarse, voice."I'll go get that little booger."

Ash broke out into a run."Stay there, Togepi, I'm coming to get you...oomph, why's this fence here?"Narrowly avoiding plowing into it, Ash changed his momentum so that it carried him over the fence instead of headfirst into it.

"Priiiiii!"The egg pokémon waved its hands around with laughter, as if it were all a game.

"Good grief..." Ash mumbled."You just don't get it, do you?"He glanced around.He couldn't see the corner of the fence in either direction—in fact the fence cut through a forest, sectioning it off into two different areas. He wondered if this was even part of the Professor's property.Togepi had never had any inhibitions about trespassing.

He made his way out to Togepi and picked it up.By this point he could see Pikachu leading Gary and Misty up to the fence.Misty clapped her hands and started to climb over the fence to reclaim her prodigal egg, but Gary yanked her back.He was either incredibly stupid or brave to risk doing that, but he looked as though he wasn't even listening to her shouts as he gazed out across the field in concern.

"Ash, what the hell do you think you're doing?" he yelled, and Misty stopped shouting, staring at him in astonishment.Ash narrowed his eyes.He figured Gary would try to boss him around at some point.

"What do you think?I'm saving this dumb pokémon!" was Ash's irked reply.

"Get out of there this minute!"Gary yelled. "_You're in the houndour pen!" _

Oops...this was not good.Ash realized that Gary wasn't being harsh so much as he was worried.After a quick look at his surroundings, where he noticed nervously that he and Togepi were the only ones who _appeared to be out in the open, he broke out running towards the fence as fast as he could._

"Well, why didn't you just say so?" he shouted.

"I tried!" Gary yelled in exasperation, but Ash was busy placing one foot in front of the other as fast as humanly possibly.He covered half the distance to the fence easily and felt his anxiety ease a bit.He might as well have been racing the wind—he could see nothing around him at all.For all anyone knew the houndour was at the opposite end of the pen. In a few moments he would be standing with the others and they would all be laughing about this.

If only life were that easy.

He heard Misty scream and picked up his already furious pace without even looking to see why.When climbing tall buildings, don't look down; when racing houndour, don't look back.He could never hope to outrun a houndour with speed or agility, but luck was on his side—he was so close to the fence, maybe he was close enough to beat it there...

"Pikachu!"

The voice was Gary's, trying to call the pokémon back, and this did cause Ash to look up.Pikachu had ducked underneath the fence and now running in a diagonal towards the woods.A frightfully large houndour, rushing horizontally towards Ash, was its target.

"Pikachu, no!Don't get hurt!" Ash yelled.Pikachu ignored him."Pikachu!...Okay, at least protect yourself!Thundershock, now!"

Pikachu quickly powered up his attack and let loose with a bolt of electricity headed directly towards the other pokémon.The houndour ducked around it easily.But Ash was almost at the fence.He could jump over it...

Then what?The houndour could too.

Startled at this, Ash missteped and went sprawling upon the ground.His ankle throbbed as he twisted it and his eyes went wide, but it was from fear instead of pain.His heart was in his throat.The game was over.

He heard Misty screaming again but his mind had already blocked everything else out in preparation for the inevitable.He curled up over Togepi to protect it, closed his eyes, and with an impossible sense of dread—just waited.

-------------------------------------

Coming in Chapter Two: Oh, wretched cliffhanger...does Ash get hurt?Will there be any AAML hints?And where the heck did the stupid title come from?

Pokémon Did-You-Know:Unlike in America, in Japan people do not point to themselves by pointing at their chest.Rather, they point to their nose.This can be seen in the second movie, both when Ash is at the shrine and learns he is the Chosen One, and at the end, when Lugia motions for Ash to get on his back.(Both times are a _"Who, me?" _gesture.)

Now, I'd better get no more than zero reviews, or else I won't post the next chapter.............made you look.No, seriously, please _don't_ take me seriously.I love hearing from everyone.Granted, some reviews are less psychotic than others (ahem, Sharon ^_~), but I'm not one to talk about sanity!Thanks so much for all your kind comments!

This story is dedicated to Spruceton Spook.If you get bored waiting for the next part, go read her exciting conclusion to _Spooked!_Well, make sure you've read the rest of the story first, of course...it's quite fun!

Disclaimer:I do not own pokémon.However, I do own the absolutely adorable (okay, neurotic, close enough) Pikachu picture on my profile page.I made using my _Picture It!__©_program—you may call it "Neon Pika."La di da...


	2. Part Two

Respect

**_Respect_**

_Part Two_

_ _

Ash had the dull realization that he never would have made it to the fence even if he hadn't fallen.Then the houndour struck, and he didn't have to think anymore.Only scream.

The houndour swiped him with its claws, and the left shoulder of his shirt was torn off, exposing long, dark scratches on his upper arm.He barely had time for his mind to accept the bright red blood that appeared from this before the next attack.Another swipe, and he was shaking at the pain in his back as the houndour's claws sunk deep.He shifted desperately in a reflex reaction, trying to get away from both the houndour and the pain, but finding comfort from neither.

Suddenly the world around him was two-thirds darker than it should have been, and he began crying involuntarily as he was clipped on the side of his head.He didn't think this attack had even been intentional, as the houndour had been moving to prepare for another attack.A sense of dread took hold of his mind.The houndour was now readying itself to bite him, and if was successful in that, Ash was petrified that his arm was going to get torn off...

He was about to go into shock.He was vaguely aware that, amidst the shouts and attacks around them, Togepi was squealing and shifting underneath him.What was that silly thing doing...?

There was a lunge, a shadow over him, and in one abrupt motion the houndour was gone as it gave its own scream of pain.Ash gasped and blinked.He hadn't known that such a small movement could be that excruciating...beads of sweat rolled down his face as he tried to look around to see what had happened.Togepi had crawled out and had its arms fixed rigidly in the air.It couldn't have...

"Ash!"

Ash had never heard Gary sound so scared.And why was his voice so far away?Behind him, he heard the faint sound of sobs.Who was that?

Another shadow fell over him.He was scared that the houndour had come back for more, but he couldn't hear it growling.Maybe there were other pokémon out there with him. Pikachu was somewhere...

Then he was screaming, his brain so clouded with pain that he couldn't even register was happening.He was being lifted, then carried over someone's back.The fire from his wounds raged throughout his entire body.

"It's okay Ash, we're getting help..." Gary's voice, though actually closer, sounded more distant than ever.Ash's forward motion became jerkier, pulling at his injuries even more.They were over the fence.What did that matter now...

He was being gently set down on the ground."Ash?" he heard Misty asking him.Her voice sounded strange, too weak for Misty...

The sun was in his eyes, blinding him.He closed them."Ash, can you hear me?" Misty asked."Ash, please try to stay awake..."

_I'm sorry, Mist, he thought silently, and then the darkness in his mind deepened until it was pitch black and he was no longer aware of anything._

***

He was stiff. He was stiff, and he was blind.His body felt so heavy...the darkness was all around him, and he didn't even care.Something was wrong.Where was he?Why did it even matter?

He tried to open his eyes, but his eyelids were heavy, and he barely managed to blink.He started to shift to the side but was stopped short by a shot of intolerable pain.He gasped and felt his eyes water up in spite of the fact that his eyelids were still glued shut.

"Don't move..." he heard someone whisper."Don't try to move."

The person squeezed his hand.This calmed him.He relaxed and obeyed the voice.With no other place to go, the tears escaped anyway.He felt the person gently brush them away, and he leaned slightly into the hand.His head didn't argue with him too much for that action, and it comforted him when the hand cupped his face tenderly before pulling away.

Gradually his mind began to wake up.His eyes opened themselves almost fully, and he took in his surroundings.He didn't recognize the room, and the bed was too hard and uncomfortable to be his own. And why were there railings on the side...was he in the hospital?That was it.But why?

He felt a slight sting in his back and remembered that his arm, back and head were hurt.Okay, so that was why he was in the hospital.Now all he had to do was remember what had happened.

The houndour attack.It came rushing back to him and he gasped before realizing it.How long had he been unconscious?

"Are you okay?"

Ash looked up and saw Misty looking at him.Her features were much softer and more subdued than usual, concern written all over her stature.Her hand was resting lightly on his and she awkwardly pulled it back.Had it been her who had been holding it?

"...F-fine..." his voice was hoarse, and he coughed.As soon as he did so his chest ached."Just...tired."

"The doctor said you would be," she said gently."You woke up early, in fact.Your mom and Professor Oak will be sorry they missed it.They're talking to your doctor right now."

"Am I going to be alright?" he asked.

Misty smiled."You'll be fine.You have a lot of stitches, and you had a mild concussion.But you'll get better within a week or two."

"Okay."He was too tired to say anything else, and Misty could tell.

"You're on some strong medication.Want to go back to sleep?" she asked.

_But I just woke up... he felt like saying.Even so, he could already feel his eyelids drooping."I...guess..."_

And he let himself sink back into slumber.

***

When he woke up again, he was only slightly less confused.Misty was gone, replaced by his mom and Professor Oak.They were both by his bed, watching him intently.Ash thought this was creepy until he realized that they could probably tell he was about to wake up.His mom looked tired herself; her face was paler than usual and she didn't smile until he looked at her.Her eyes softened then and she smiled in relief at his awakening.

"Mom...?" he said.His voice sounded a _little closer to normal._

"I'm here, baby," she said, leaning over to brush the bangs off his forehead.Baby?Why was she calling him that?She hadn't called him that since he was six.He had insisted on calling her Delia in retribution...surrender turned out to be easier than discipline in that instance.

He tried to smile, ended up coughing, and asked, "What, Delia."

His mom laughed, and that made him feel better.She leaned over and kissed him on the forehead."You remembered," she said."You never did like that name..." 

"Because I'm not a baby," he said, then had another coughing fit and let himself close his eyes, exhausted.

His mom hesitated."No, but you're still a child...we'll talk about that later..."

_That doesn't make any sense...Ash thought.Then again, very little made sense at the moment._

"The doctor says you're going to be fine, alright?...but you need your rest.You were very lucky.The painkillers you are on are going to make you really sleepy, so just go back to sleep, okay?...we'll still be here."

Ash was too tired to argue and he drifted back to sleep.Again.

***

He woke up a few more times that day.There was always someone by his bedside.Most of the time it was his mom, sometimes accompanied by Professor Oak. But other times it was Misty, Brock, or Tracey.Once it had even been Gary—that had been strange.But no matter who it was, he hardly managed to hold a brief conversation with them before falling asleep again, the conversation already forgottenby the time he next awoke.In the evening the doctor came in and gave him a sedative, and it was morning before the next time he awoke.

That time happened to be at the absolutely inhumane hour of seven o'clock in the morning, the purpose being to give him a breakfast that he didn't even feel like eating.He wasn't sure if it was his appetite that was weak or the food—it didn't look like even Snorlax would touch this stuff.

He did notice that, despite the heavy fatigue that seemed to weigh down every bone of his body, he was more aware this morning.They had weaned him to a lower dose of painkillers over the course of the night.He picked at his breakfast and wishedhe had a donut.Once the nurse had taken away the tray, tsking at him for not eating more than he did, he watched TV.Visiting hours were supposed to start at nine, but Misty came in at eight-thirty, right in the middle of _The Pikachu That Glowed in the Dark.He halfway wished that his Pikachu would do that, but then again, that would probably get to be just as annoying as if Pikachu had stayed pink._

"You're awake," Misty said in surprise, obviously relieved.

"I feel a little better," Ash said."I mean, I'm still exhausted, and it hurts to move, but...I don't know how to explain it.I just feel better."

"Like you don't want to die?" Misty said, arching her eyebrows.Ash laughed.

"Yeah," he admitted."It was kind of bad yesterday."

Misty hesitated, then glanced at the clock."I'm not supposed to be here yet," she said, "but I slipped past Nurse Joy.I just wanted to warn you..." she paused.

"What?" Ash asked."Is something wrong?"

"Not exactly.It's just that Gary got chewed out yesterday by Professor Oak," she said reluctantly.In spite of the fact that this was what she came to do, she still hated to tell him this."I don't know if you remember, but he was the one who saved you.As soon as Togepi and Pikachu distracted it he ran out to get you and carried you back.Professor Oak was really mad that either of you were in the pen...especially because you got hurt."

Mad was an understatement, Misty knew.She and Brock had gotten their own tongue lashings, for which the Professor had later apologized, saying he was just taking his fear and anger out on them.That had lessened the sting of his rebuke only slightly.

"But I didn't know it was the houndour pen," Ash sighed."Although I guess I shouldn't have gone in until I was sure.But that's where I found Togepi...wait, did you say Togepi distracted it?"

"With metronome," Misty said with satisfaction."See, I told you it knew some attacks!The silly thing just never knows when to use them."

"That was a good time to learn..." Ash said ruefully."Did any of the other pokémon get hurt...sheesh, I can't believe I forgot.I guess Gary is okay too?" he asked.He had just assumed that since Gary visited yesterday him, he was fine.

"Yes, he's okay..Like I said, the other pokémon distracted the houndour, so it didn't even get near Gary.Pikachu got a little scratch but the Professor healed him right up with some hyper potion," Misty quickly reassured him.

"Where is Pikachu?" Ash asked.

"He couldn't come in this hospital," Misty said."They only allow pokémon during certain times of the day, and they wouldn't let him in with your condition being what it was yesterday.I'm sorry."

"Oh.Okay."Ash's tone was disappointed, making Misty feel guilty at being the bearer of bad news.But that was why she had come in the first place.She sighed.

"But...I just thought you might want to know that, as soon as you feel up to it, you're going to be lectured too.I didn't want you to feel bad or think that you were the only one being blamed," she said.

"That's okay.I should have expected it," he said resignedly.Then, more unsure of himself, "I was just wondering...are you mad at me too?"Misty looked startled at the question.

"Well, I didn't want you to get hurt..." she said, then trailed off.

"What do you think I should have done?Should I have done something different?"He carefully propped himself up on his elbows and looked at her, making her uncomfortable, for his eyes were pleading.He had been hurt enough, and she had worried him with her warnings.He didn't need any other recrimination.

"I don't know, but...if it's any consolation, I would have done the same thing," she told him truthfully, hoping it was enough.

It was.Ash smiled, leaning back against his pillow more peacefully."Yeah, it is.Thanks."

***

The first good news was that he got to go home that day.His wounds, though serious, were minor enough that his mom could change the dressing on them.He was instructed to keep an eye out for infection, given another days' worth of low dose painkillers, and then released.

The second good news was that he didn't get a tongue lashing immediately.He got home around noon and his mom set him up out on the sofa so that she could keep an eye on him for the rest of the day.He was supposed to move as little as possible until his injuries were more fully healed, and he had to rest and take it easy for at least a week.All of his other friends promised to keep him entertained, though, in spite of knowing what an arduous task keeping this promise would entail.Ash was not one to sit still for very long.

The bad news was that the lecture was only postponed until later that afternoon.In the beginning, if he hadn't been so tired and medicated, he decided that it would have been almost like a party.While Ash rested on the sofa, the rest of the kids sat around him just talking.Everyone had gotten along incredibly well, with not a single fight.Ash wondered if everyone was still in shock over yesterday's accident. He knew that _he was feeling a lot more good-natured than usual.He was even glad to see Gary there.Then again, having a guy save your life will do that for you._

About four o'clock the Professor arrived, and Delia sent everyone else out of the living room.They had given Ash sympathetic looks as they left but otherwise scurried away without further comment, still remembering their own talks.Though Gary had leaned over and reminded Ash, "Remember, my grandfather will go easier on you if you cry."

"I'm not going to cry," Ash growled.

"You did yesterday."

"Grr...."

Okay, so there was _one fight.But Ash didn't count that one.Gary had been trying to be nice—maybe.In a weird sort of way._

"Ash..." the Professor said when it was just the three of them.The quiet and level tone of his voice was actually quite frightening.Ash felt a nervous flutter in his stomach."Why did you go in the houndour pen after I told you not to?"

"It was an accident.I didn't know it was the houndour pen, Professor Oak," Ash said earnestly."I know it was dumb, I should have checked.But I thought that the field was in someone else's' yard.I wouldn't have gone in it otherwise..." he trailed off, not entirely sure if he was telling the truth there and hoping the Professor couldn't sense that.He _had to rescue Togepi, after all.He decided to throw that in."And I didn't go in it on purpose.It was just that Togepi was lost, and I found it over there.I was going to leave as soon as I found it, but..."Ash stopped.They knew what happened next._

Professor Oak sighed."That's what Gary said.And I'll admit, it's hard to get mad at you two for simply trying to do something right."Ash blinked.It was?The Professor had evidently had time to calm down since yesterday.

"You were trying to save your friend's pokémon, and Gary was trying to save his friend.But still, you put both of yourselves in a very dangerous situation.And you disobeyed me—not deliberately, but you disobeyed me nonetheless," he said. 

"And you know that disobeying Professor Oak is the same as disobeying me," Delia said softly, picking up where the Professor left off."We've talked it over, and we've come up with a disciplinary lesson that we think is appropriate."She took a deep breath."For the next two weeks, you're not allowed to have anything to do with pokémon training at all.And that includes pokémon, of course."

It took a moment for it to sink in."Two weeks?" Ash asked, dazed.This wasn't fair. He was going to a pokémon master—how was he supposed to do that without any pokémon?He had _thought his mother understood his ambition..._

A lump formed in his throat and he angrily tried to swallow it away.Darn it, he would not cry.He wouldn't give Gary Oak the satisfaction."What about Pikachu?" he asked.The combination of pain from his injuries and the humility of being punished made the thought of being separated from his friend worse, and his eyes watered up.He brushed at them, mad at himself for not being strong enough to avoid the tears.

Delia hesitated, then relented."He can stay.But he's not allowed to be anything more than a companion, and Professor Oak will be caring for all your other pokémon until the two weeks are up.You're going to be grounded from comics and TV and VCR privileges too, after today.Since you'll be stuck on the sofa all day I'm making an exception.And we agreed that you can study if you want, because our goal is not to try to bore you out of your mind, just to think before you act...please don't cry, sweetie."

"I'm not!" The tear running down his cheek belied his words and he shifted onto his side so that he didn't have to look at them.This made his shoulder throb and he winced in pain but decided to try to sweat it out.

"We're just doing this because we don't want you to get hurt," the Professor said.Gary may have been right after all—Ash thought he detected a more compassionate tone in the Professor's voice.

"I know."Ash sniffed.He was almost over it but he was still resentful."What about Gary?"

"He'll be appropriately punished too, but that's between me and him," Professor Oak said."And just so you know, this conversation will not leave the room because of your mom or me, either."

_It doesn't matter.My friends will find out soon enough when I can't leave for two weeks or do anything that involves pokémon, Ash thought bitterly._

"Do you have any questions?" Professor Oak asked.

_Why me?But he didn't say that, just began shaking his head __no.There was no use in arguing.It wouldn't help his case and would probably make his punishment worse.And all because of that stupid houndour...hey, that reminded him!_

"I do have a question!What keeps the houndour in its pen?"

"What?"Professor Oak looked startled at the random change of subject, then shook his head.This is what he got for trying to discipline a hyperactive boy.

"There's a psychic field my kadabra has set up around it," Professor Oak explained."It works to discourage the houndour from leaving.Evidently I need to expand it to keep inquisitive little boys out, as well," he said dryly.

"Oh."Ash blushed at this."Just wondering."

***

The next two weeks were all but unbearable.It didn't help that Gary left to continue his journey after the first one.Either Gary's punishment had been shorter or less severe, Ash decided, which did little to dismiss the grudge he held against him.

Brock, Tracey, Misty, and for the first week Gary, had all tried to keep Ash entertained, but the truth was that everyone was happy when Ash's punishment ended.Ash attempted to be a good patient but there is only a certain length of time an energetic young boy can stand to be inactive, and it is quite less than two weeks.Their attempts to keep him busy were valiant but doomed for failure at best.

Ash was terrible at cooking and even worse at drawing.His only consolation was that Misty was just as bad at either, and as Misty's charitability decreased at the same rate that Ash's strength rose, they had several interesting insult wars over that once he was feeling better.However, even though the immediate pain was gone, his wounds still need time to heal physically.So they went outside very little as well, because his mom wouldn't allow any rough housing until the stitches came out, and that took ten days, leaving him with a grand total of four to play outside.And since even then he wasn't allowed to play with his pokémon, he was just as likely, if not more so, to sulk out there than inside the house.

The only thing that made him feel that those weeks weren't a total waste was the fact that, amazingly enough, he really _did use the time to study, relying on his friends' knowledge to help him learn.Brock drilled him on rock and ground type pokemon, such as all the attacks they were strong at and weak against and when they were more likely to evolve.And as a bonus, he even threw in one of his secret ingredients for specialized poké-chow.(Ash decided that this was more a gesture of trust than anything else, as he was still lacking the other four secret ingredients.)Misty did the same thing as Brock with water pokémon, minus the cooking advice but with the addition of lots of snide comments._

Tracey's profession as a Watcher proved to be valuable as he had a wealth of information on almost all types of pokémon and insights into their behavior that most other trainers would not have seen.Gary's contribution was to goad Ash on and be a constant source of aggravation by harassing him every time he missed an answer.Despite Ash's annoyance and frustration, it worked, and he found that Gary had less and less to provoke him on (and though Gary would never admit it, he learned some new things himself.)By the time Gary left Ash was able to give them correct answers at least half the time, and by the end of his confinement, Ash had actually learned everything that his friends had intended for him to learn.And that was good enough for his mom to buy him rocky road ice cream the last night of his grounding in celebration of both his success and his new freedom.He stayed for two more days after that, as his mom said that she'd like to see her son for at least one more day when he wasn't hurt or grounded, and then it was time to hit the road again.

"Now dear, remember to take your vitamins," Delia said.She stuffed a canister of chewable pokémon tablets in his backpack as they stood on the doorstep."I know how you kids eat on the road.This will keep your defenses up."

"Alright," Ash agreed.

"And get plenty of sleep.You need at least ten hours of sleep every night.All of you do," Delia scolded.

Brock and Misty pretended to occupy themselves with their own backpacks, as they all knew quite well that they rarely ever made it to bed when they were 'supposed' to.It was usually all they could do to make it before the PokéCenter closed.Ash was left saying the flustered, "Right..."

"And lastly, don't forget..."

"I know, I know, mom," Ash groaned."I'll change my you-know-whats."Misty giggled and Ash shot her a dirty look.

"Oh!" His mom gave a surprised exclamation."I had almost forgotten!Thank you for reminding me, sweetie.I bought you a brand new pack of those to take with you!"She ran inside and came back with a pack of gleaming white Fruit of the Glooms."Here you go!"

"_Mom!"Ash's face turned pink and he quickly grabbed the package and his backpack from her, stuffing the first parcel into the second and zipping his bag up.He decided that a hasty retreat was in order._

"Okay, well, thanks!You know I love you, I gotta go, bye!"He took off down the road before she could embarrass him again, leaving Brock and Misty to catch up.They yelled after him as they set off at a jog and his mom waved cheerfully at the departing trio, oblivious to the damage she had caused to her son's ego.

"Bye sweetie!Have fun and be careful!"She turned to her only companion nowand sniffled."Oh Mimey...they grow up so fast, don't they?"

"Mime," Mr. Mime agreed.He handed her a tissue.

"Oh, thank you, Mimey," she said, dabbing her eyes.She gave one last wave at the kids, who were just about out of sight—but as she looked, she saw Ash turn around and wave back before disappearing over the hill.She blew her nose loudly.

Mr. Mime sighed as he accepted the dirty tissue and carried it to the trash can for her.He couldn't say he felt the same about Ash's departure.He was sorry that Delia felt bad, of course, but there was a bright side to this.At least now, he had Mommy all to himself.

***

"So, where are we now?" Misty leaned wearily against a tree and slunk down to the ground.She rubbed her forehead at the all too familiar sight of Brock staring at the map. Hopefully it wasn't upside down again.

Ash was leaning over to look at it as well, scratching the back of his head as he did so.Pikachu was sitting atop Ash's hat and this action disturbed him.He twitched his tail out of the way.Misty frowned.

"Ash, don't pick at your scab," she reprimanded, and Ash jerked his hand away, scowling.He hadn't even realized he was doing it, but he didn't want to listen to her nag.This called for retribution.He looked up at Misty and his eyes widened.

"Oh my God, Misty, it's poison ivy!" he said, and Misty bounded up.

"Where?" she shrieked, hastily brushing off the back of her legs.Ash started laughing.

"Gotcha..." he started to say but Brock cut him off. 

"Ivy..." he mumbled.The map fluttered to the ground, forgotten, and he sank down beside it in slow motion, staring off into the distance with a forlorn expression on his face."I almost forgot...don't mention that name."

"Ash, you idiot!Now look what you've done!" Misty said, running over and giving Ash a good _thump in the arm."This is what you get for trying to scare me!"_

"Ow!Hey, I forgot—and I didn't just _try to scare you, I __did!" Ash protested.He rubbed at his sore arm."Let me see what I can do.Umm...okay.So, Brock, can we stop to eat?"_

"Why do all your distractions involve food?" Misty said in exasperation, but Ash's words had the desired effect.Brock snapped out of it and looked up at the sky.

"It's not quite dinner time, but we could probably stop for a snack," he agreed."Let's set our stuff down over there."They walked over to a clear patch of grass and sat down.Pikachu accepted the reluctant job of baby-sitter to Togepi and ran to stop the little egg from eating a poisonous mushroom.

While Brock rummaged around his back pack, Misty picked the map back up off the ground and looked at with half interest, half apathy.On the one hand, this was her ticket out of the forest.On the other, it wasn't uncommon for the ticket to be round trip.Her eyes wandered up to their _intended destination._

"Goldenrod City," she said."I wonder what it's like."

"I don't care, as long as it's got a hotel."Ash flopped down upon the grass, grimacing even as he stretched."I'm ready for a real bed again."

"I thought you liked camping out," Misty said.

"I do.But you can have too much of a good thing!" he groaned.Misty snickered.

"Too bad you don't take your own advice while eating," she said.

"What's your problem with my eating habits?" he said, irritably tugging the bill of his hat down to shade his face. "That's getting just a little old."

"Maybe I'll stop when _you grow up," Misty said snidely, and Brock broke in before Ash could counter._

"We're all hungry," he said peacefully."How about some cheese and crackers?"

"We still have cheese?" Ash perked up."Yeah!Bring it on!"He reached out his hand eagerly while Misty sat down again, content to wait until Brock gave her some.While she was waiting, a weird feeling settled over her.She furrowed her brow and looked around.

"Hey guys?" she asked."Do you get the feeling that we're being watched?"

Ash looked up, his mouth full of food."Bwah huh?"

"Don't talk with your mouth full!"

Ash swallowed."By what?" he asked.

"I don't know, I just get this feeling..." Misty started to say, but was interrupted by Ash's shout. 

"_Look out!"_

Misty reacted instinctively, ducking down and to the side.Seconds later a donphan came barreling from behind her, right next to where she had just been.She let loose withan vehement "_Shit!"Ash grinned at this._

"Startled, are we?" he teased, but didn't blame her for the expletive.That had been a close call.

"It's a donphan!" Brock said."I wonder if it belongs to anyone?"Misty shook her head at this, her heart still pounding.If it was wild, she would just as soon it run away, and if it did have an owner, they would definitely get a piece of her mind.

The donphan snorted and pawed the ground.The three kids looked at it uneasily, but it just stood there, eyeing them with distaste.Pikachu stood in front of the group, its cheeks sparking protectively.

"I'll take that as a _no," Ash said."The map doesn't say this is a reserve area or near any farms, either, so I would assume that it's wild.Besides, it's just a baby...isn't it?"_

"I think you're right," Brock said."Which means we can catch it!"

"No thanks," Misty said, making another face at the pokémon that had almost run her over, but stepping back to watch the coming battle.

"I guess it's between us, Ash," Brock said."You know what to do."Ash nodded solemnly, but inwardly groaned to himself."Misty, call it."Brock instructed.

"Rock...scissors...paper...go!"The two boys pounded their fists on their palms and unveiled their choice."Brock is rock and Ash is paper, so Ash wins!" Misty declared.Brock snapped his fingers in disappointment.

"You beat me!Lucky guess."

"Yeah, right."Ash rolled his eyes.He turned to his pokémon."Pikachu, you know what to do!Agility, now!"

"Pika pi!"Pikachu shot off in a blur of speed, dodging in a zigzag around the donphan.It looked at Pikachu in confusion.

"Pikachu!Thundershock!"

Pikachu reacted quickly, but the donphan appeared have heard the command as well, as it curled itself up and the electricity for the most part bounced off its armor.It rolled backwards at the impact, then adjusted its momentum so it was coming forward in a rolling tackle.

"Use agility again!" Ash yelled, and Pikachu ran around the donphan, evading its attack.The donphan rolled out and pawed the ground again angrily.It charged.Pikachu reacted with agility once more even as Ash called out the command.Then it was time for an offensive move.

"Try a quick attack!"

Pikachu rushed forward, but this time it was the donphan who stepped aside from the attack.It appeared to decide that it had had enough, as it readied itself for a final take down attack.It ran forward...

...and straight at Ash.It had evidently determined the source of its problem and was going to try to finish off the trainer instead of the pokémon.

Brock and Misty were startled at first at this development, but it wasn't unusual to be attacked by wild pokémon on their journeys.But they watched with confusion and eventually growing horror as Ash just stood there, staring at it blankly. 

"What's he doing?" Brock asked."Ash, get out of the way!"

Ash didn't even hear his cry.He was confused himself, his mind in a muddle.A flashback of the houndour running towards him had suddenly taken hold of him, surprising him and paralyzing him with fear, making him incapable of any thought or action to protect himself.He hadn't expected this to happen and was helpless to know how to recover from it.The donphan took advantage of this and with one swift motion, attacked.

Ash just stared at it without actually seeing it and waited for it to strike.

-------------------------------------

Coming Up in Chapter Three:So, do you think the same cliffhanger as in chapter one will work twice in a row?_(sweatdrops)_Err…stick around for the next part, as both the title and the summary will become clear…and I finally get my AAML hint!:o)

Pokémon Did-You-Know:In Japan, to count on your fingers, instead of beginning with a closed fist and unfurling your fingers as you count off, you begin with your fingers outstretched and starting with the thumb, lower them into a fist.James does this as he's counting pokémon in "Charizard's Burning Ambition," and if I'm not mistaken, Ash does this as well as in the recent "Air Time," when he's naming the pokémon he has with him.

Sorry it took a while for me to post this.My Word program is messed up and I can't post at home!The only reason I'm able to do this now is because I'm using the computer at my mom's work.So please forgive any errors, as I'm not able to fix them yet…I'll try to catch them the next time I upload.But thanks for all the reviews.I hope you're still enjoying the story.I'm also glad to see that most people like to see, as Kat Morning said, "Gary acting human for once."(Thanks, Kat!^_~)And btw, yes, Dragoness, that was me who had all the poké-puns in the "Love" story.LOL

Disclaimer:I don't own Pokémon and now I no longer have a cute picture on my profile, either.Isn't life cruel?:o(


	3. Part Three

Respect

**Respect**

** **

_Part Three****_

"Ash!"Misty screamed.

Misty's shout finally broke him out of his trance, and at the last possible second he leapt out of the way. The donphan skidded and slammed into a nearby tree, temporarily dazing it, and Ash used the opportunity to run away, towards Brock and Misty.He was breathing heavily, his heart pounding.What just happened?

His friends gave a sigh of relief at this narrow escape only to be shocked again when he ran straight between them without stopping.His head was ducked so far down into his chest that Misty couldn't believe he didn't run into any trees because he couldn't have seen them.Something was wrong...

"Hey, Ash!What are you doing?" Brock yelled.

"You try to capture it!I don't want it!" Ash shouted without looking back.He disappeared into the trees.Pikachu bolted after him.

"Ash not want a pokémon?" Brock asked incredulously.Misty stared in the direction Ash had run in.

"I wonder..." she mumbled softly.

"You wonder what?" Brock asked.

She shook her head quickly."Never mind.I think I know what it is.Pikachu, wait!Stop!" she shouted, running after the two.

Pikachu gave her an extremely irritated look and barely slowed its pace, turning around only long enough to give an argumentative "Pika pika, pika pi!"

"Hold on, let me handle this," she said."Trust me, I can help him!"Pikachu came close to a stop but Misty kept running.Ash had a head start on her and she couldn't afford to lose any time."Stay here and watch Togepi.I promise he'll be okay.I just need to talk to him.I know what's the matter."

Pikachu grudgingly turned around and let Misty run ahead of him."Thank you, Pikachu," she whispered, though she knew he couldn't hear her.****

Brock watched as one of his friends ran into the woods and out of sight, chasing after the other one.He decided to stay there and start cooking something, because forget the snack—knowing them, it would be suppertime by the time they got back.Though he did take a moment to silently wish that whatever Ash's problem was, Misty would be able to help him.Life was never boring with those two around.

"Pika pi..." Pikachu said, pulling at Brock's leg.The poor thing wasn't used to having to stay behind when his trainer was in trouble.And Brock wasn't used to having to interpret its speech without Ash's assistance.

"Uh...say that again?" he said.Pikachu responded by curling up in a ball and rolling.

"You're a...oh, I get it, a donphan!Hey!" he said as Pikachu's message dawned on him.He looked around for it in vain—it had used the distraction to escape."Where'd it go?Did I miss it?Damn!"

Pikachu scratched his head sheepishly, and Brock shrugged."Oh well.There will be other pokémon.For now, let's just get Togepi, and..."

He stopped, and he and Pikachu exchanged a look that was a cross between commiseration and distress.A little egg shaped pokémon was conspicuously absent from their group.Brock took advantage of the fact that he was temporarily relieved of having to set 'a good example' and cursed again."Where did it go this time?Not _again!"_

"Pika chu," the pokémon agreed in misery.

***

Where _was he?_

Misty looked around and sighed.This was just great.He couldn't have gone far, but on the other hand, neither of them knew their way around the woods.It would be easy for one or both of them to get lost and complete miss finding the other.Not that Ash was looking for her.She took another deep breath.

"_Ash!" she yelled for what seemed like the hundredth time."__Ash, where are__ you?"_

The call of a pidgey was her only answer.She rubbed her eyes tiredly and kept walking.He had to be somewhere around here.She would find him.She perked up when up ahead, she saw a gap in the trees.Beyond it was open space.Was this her lucky break?

She stopped when she reached the edge of the trees and glanced around hesitantly.There was a river nearby.That was handy to know—they might camp there tonight.If they ever found Ash.She looked up and down the bank despondently.The entire area was clear.If there was a little boy to be found, she should have found him right away...

...unless he was lying down.

Relief washed over her as she looked farther down the river and saw a telltale red and white striped hat just barely sticking up from the grass.She walked towards him quietly.So quietly, in fact, that she was almost standing over him before he looked up and noticed her.He hastily sat up and wiped his eyes.She examined his face closely—he may have been crying.Or he may have just been on the verge of it, she couldn't tell.She sat down next to him.

"Misty?What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you, silly."Her voice had none of the usual animosity in it.She leaned over and sifted her fingers through the grass distractedly."Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," he said.

"Yeah, right," she chided gently."Why did you run away?"

"I...I don't know," he admitted."I just couldn't do it anymore."

"Were you scared?"

"No."She gave him a look and he flushed."Okay, a little." 

"Why?"

"I told you, I don't know!" he said, an edge to his voice as he shot her a glare.It wasn't her he was mad at, though, and both of them knew it.He was upset because he had asked that question of himself and didn't know the answer.So for once Misty didn't let it frustrate her—she sympathized even more with him instead.

He looked down at the ground."Sorry," he whispered, ashamed of his behavior.

"That's okay."The two sat there in silence for a while, collecting their thoughts.Ash picked up some small stones and tossed them into the river while Misty watched the clouds, waiting for him calm down.She didn't want him to be angry when she talked to him.Finally she thought it was safe to speak.

"Ash...have I ever told you about the time that I was scared of water?"

Ash gave her a startled look, the last stone in his hand left unthrown."What? I though you always liked water pokémon," he said in astonishment.

She bit her lip timidly—she had never told this story before, and she wasn't the type to let herself appear vulnerable in front of another person.But unless she missed her guess, Ash would be the last person to tease her for it.She swallowed and began.

"You're right.I've always liked water _pokémon_.I said I was scared of water.But some of my fear did rub off onto water pokémon, because you can admire something and still be scared of it.You see...when I was eight years old..."

***

_Approximately six years ago_

"Horsea!Horsea, no, wait!"

The little girl ran alongside the beach shore, her short red pigtails bobbing frantically.The horsea was swimming back and forth about five yards off.It had come close enough to let her feed it bait, then panicked when she tried to touch it.

"Horsea, no, it's okay.I don't want to hurt you, I just want to pet you.Please come back here!"The horsea stopped swimming in circles, but just stared at her from its position.She looked at it and bit her lips.She wasn't supposed to go in the water by herself, but her sisters were all the way inside.The horsea may be gone by the time she came back.Surely it couldn't hurt to wade in just a little bit.

She took off her flip-flops and hesitantly tested the water with her foot.The horsea darted forward to investigate her toe, then darted back, dancing excitedly at its adventure.Misty giggled in delight.

"No, come closer again..." she reached out her hand.The horsea swam a few feet farther back, then stopped, waiting to see if Misty would follow it.Misty glanced back at the beach worriedly, then stepped forward, so that she was in up to her knees."Horsea, please..."

It relented.It came close enough for Misty to reach out and pat its head, and her face broke out in a wide grin.Then it spit a little bit of water at her and swam slightly farther back than it had been.

"Are you playing with me?" she asked.Her face fell in disappointment. "I'm not supposed to play in the ocean by myself."

The horsea stopped bobbing so enthusiastically. "Seeeee...." it whined.Misty sniffed.

"I know.It's not fair.My sisters swim by themselves when they've got Seel.I should be able to, too."She looked at the horsea thoughtfully."Although...Horsea, pokémon are supposed to help keep people safe.Would you watch me while I swam?Would you keep me safe?"

"Horsea!" it squealed, and Misty clapped her hands.

"Yay!Let's play!"She dove into the water, shrieking in happiness as the water soaked her and the horsea swam back and forth playfully."Horsea, I bet I can catch you!"

The horsea took her up on the challenge and swam farther off into the ocean.Misty swam after it.She was on the Cerulean City Starmies, the ten-and-under division of the swim team.She was too young to worry about the competition aspect (though she was quite proud of the red ribbon she had won at her summer camp swim meet), but she was still a fair swimmer for her age, and it didn't bother her a bit to go out so far that she couldn't touch the bottom.

She couldn't stop laughing as she raced to catch it.Third-place ribbon holder or not, horsea were faster than eight year old swimmers, especially little girls that were distracted by a case of the giggles.The horsea was never in any danger of getting caught and grew less cautious, squealing itself as it dashed just under Misty's hand only to be gone when she reached to catch, and skimming right over her when she put her head under the water to look around.

Suddenly she realized she had swum a long way out."Horsea..." she said."Can we get closer to the shore?I don't think my sisters want me out this far...I should probably go back in before they find me... "

But the horsea was hyper after having a playmate for so long.It dove under the water, staying down there for many seconds."Horsea?" Misty asked, and it swiftly reappeared behind her, leaping in the air and dancing atop the water, making Misty catch her breath, enchanted by its antics.

"See..." it whined, then dove down again.It stayed down there for about as long as before, this time doing a somersault as it came up.

"Oh, Horsea...I know you want me to stay...it's just that my sisters...you don't want me to get into trouble, do you?" she asked.It dove back under in a last ditch effort to keep her there.Misty sighed, and waited for it to return.

It was underwater for a long time this time.Misty looked at the spot where it had gone under worriedly."Horsea?" she asked, uncertainty in her voice."Horsea, come back up now, you're scaring me."It was still down there.She bit her lip.Horsea didn't have gills; they couldn't stay underwater forever.It had to come up soon...unless it was in trouble.

She took a deep breath and dove under, looking for it.Her concern grew as she looked around and didn't see it anywhere.Had it swum away without her knowing it?She surfaced, took another breath, then dove down again.This time she combed the bottom of the ocean, and her heart skipped a bit when she saw her new friend.She swam up and got one more gigantic breath, then swam down to meet it.

The water wasn't extraordinarily deep, only about ten feet, but that was an enormous depth for a little girl.And the horsea was all the way at the bottom.It had gotten caught in some seaweed and was now struggling frantically to free itself.Misty would have cried at the sight if she wasn't so busy trying to reach it.But she had to be strong...she had to help her horsea...

She reached the patch of seaweed and tried to brush it away in order to reach the pokémon, but the horsea had managed to get stuck smack dab in the middle of it.She couldn't help it unless she got into the patch herself.She let her torso wiggle into the mess of plants and then she was able to touch the horsea.It wriggled wildly at her touch.

_Don't fight me Horsea... she pleaded silently, and it almost seemed to hear her, for it calmed down long enough for her to break the seaweed entangled around it and let it go.It swam up as soon as she did, and her heart leapt in joy.She had done it!She had helped her horsea.She didn't want to think about what would have happened if she hadn't been there..._

She started to swim up herself, but something tugged her back.Her excitement changed to fear as she realized that the seaweed had wrapped itself around her left arm, snaring her instead of her pokémon friend.Her lungs were crying out for air, but it shouldn't take too long to free herself.She used her right hand to try to release the other one, but the seaweed just wrapped itself around her even tighter.She started kicking.She had to escape.But somehow she had managed to work her entire body into the patch, and now her left leg was trapped, too.

_Horsea, I need help... she thought in fright.Once again she felt it knew what she was saying.The horsea was above her, and though the water distorted the sound, she could hear it crying out, literally crying for her.It was scared for its friend. She couldn't cry herself, she couldn't afford to lose the breath...but it was almost gone anyway.She would have to breathe any second.She was scared too.She didn't want to die..._

There was a violent pull on her arm, and she cried out, choking in the process.She started coughing water harshly. She had run out of time, but her arm was still being yanked, and suddenly it was free.Strong arms gripped her around the waist and pulled her up.She broke the surface and gasped, taking in great gulps of air, until she had caught her breath enough to start wailing with fear.

"Shh...it's okay...don't cry, Misty, you're safe now..." Her savior, her sister Lily, held her baby sister in her arms as she tread water, stroking Misty's hair comfortingly.She had seen Misty from the shore and had come to her aid without her realizing it, the horsea marking the location where Misty had gone down.

The horsea danced around long enough to see that Misty was okay, then ran away, scared of the new human.Lily continued talking."It's alright, I need you to calm down, we need to swim back to shore...shh, there now, you're okay..."

But the damage had been already been done.

***

"You didn't drown?" Ash asked in surprise, and Misty let her head fall into her hands in exasperation.

"No, Ash, I'm lying.I did drown, and I'm not sitting her and talking to you right now," she said sarcastically.Ash's face turned red.

"No, I mean...uh..." he stuttered."That was dumb.Never mind."

Misty rolled her eyes and grinned."You're such a nut."

He shrugged self-consciously, then looked at her.His gaze was different than any other time, his face a mixture of disbelief, sympathy, and astonishingly enough, pride."Do you mean you're scared of water now?" he asked."And you still want to be a water pokémon trainer?I never would have thought..."

"No, of course I'm not," Misty said cheerfully."Come on, Ash, you've seen me near an ocean.I adore water."Ash gave her a perplexed look, like he couldn't figure out quite what she was trying to tell him.

"I'm confused," he said.

"That doesn't take much," she retorted, and he smiled slightly.Then she turned serious, and after a moment, explained.

"Yes, I was scared after that.I was scared of water for almost a year.You can imagine how hard it was for me, living in a water pokémon gym.I quit the swim team.I begged my sisters to cancel their water shows the first few days after that, because I didn't want to lose them.They refused, of course, and told me that I needed to get back in the water, but I wouldn't.I...I screamed every time they tried to bring me anywhere near the pool, and they didn't have the heart to actually force me to go in," she admitted, blushing slightly.But she had been right—Ash wasn't laughing at her.He looked like he felt sorry for her instead.

"After a while they didn't try to make me do anything, though they still kept encouraging me.And I still liked pokémon, and since most of the pokémon we owned were water type, I couldn't hate them, despite my fear.I would go visit the ones we owned, as long as they were in the small holding tank instead of the big pool.And I liked to watch them on TV, and I dreamed of being able to one day have my own water pokémon show.I wanted to believe that by the time I grew up I would just have outgrown my fear."

"Is that all?Are you saying that it just got easier as you got older?" Ash asked.

"No," she said, and started giggling at the expression on Ash's face.

"I don't think I understand the moral to this story," he said dryly, and she laughed again.

"Well, I'm not finished yet," she said."The way I was avoiding water all the time, I would never have outgrown it.I had to learn not to be scared."

"And how do you do that?" Ash asked.He was listening to her intently.She got the impression that he was trying not to act too interested, just concerned about his friend.But it didn't work, and she knew she was doing the right thing by talking to him.

"Well...believe it or not, I had another near scare," she said."Do you remember that storm about five years ago?It was the worst one the meteorologists had seen in years.It was a...oh, what did they call it? I learned it in school."She frowned at the recollection."Um...it was a gale, if that means anything to you. The winds were really strong and it was a really hard rain.A lot of towns flooded.Do you remember?"

"Yeah.My mom made us stay in the bathroom for three hours that night because she was afraid there would be a hurricane," Ash said."We played Spit all night."He grinned and Misty rolled her eyes.

"You and that infernal card game," she said."Well, anyway, Cerulean City was one of the places that was badly hit.It flooded some of the streets and knocked down trees and everything.Afterwards a lot of people went out in rescue teams. My sisters and I were a part of this, and we helped the people who were looking for pokémon that had gotten lost or injured during the storm.And we were assigned to the river.

"I didn't want to go near it, but I was too worried about the pokémon to refuse.And I did help.Most of the pokémon were wild ones that the storm had only spooked.Though I did find a hurt rattata and took it to the temporary PokéCenter, and I also found a lost growlithe.We knew who it belonged to because it was wearing a collar.It was actually that day that I caught..."

She paused.This and her near drowning were the two worst parts of the story for her to relate.But Ash was still watching her, looking as if he needed her to continue, so she just took a few deep breaths to calm herself and pressed on."Well," she said, "I'm ahead of myself.The next pokémon I found was an eevee who had crept down to get a drink of water on the other side of the river.The eevee was really dirty, and I couldn't tell if it was hurt or not.The problem was I had no way of reaching it.Until I looked farther down the river, and there was a tree that had been knocked over by the storm.It bridged the river enough that I thought I might be able to use it to cross to the other side.But I never made it.So I never reached the eevee, either—I've worried about it since then.But I just had to hope that either it was okay, or that someone else found it."

She swallowed nervously, and Ash fidgeted, knowing this was hard for her."I...it's hard to believe I actually had the courage to do this now, but I was really worried about the pokémon, so...I tried crawling over the log, but it was slippery from the rain...and I...I slipped...I fell in..."

"It scared you," Ash said softly.

"You'd better believe it did."She gave a shaky laugh.Even though she was over it, whenever she thought about that day she still remembered her fear.She couldn't stop here though.This was the most important part.

She looked Ash in the eye and said, "I was so scared that I couldn't move at first.It was like the fear took hold of my mind and I knew I needed to do something, but I couldn't.I just knew that I was going to drown, and I didn't want to fight something that I couldn't escape.It was almost like I was a spectator, you know?I was so disattached from myself that I just sat back and waited for it to happen."

Ash was perfectly still, staring off into the distance uncomfortably.He squirmed once, then dropped his hands in his lap.He felt like he should say something, something to encourage her or tell her that he understood, but the words wouldn't form themselves in his throat.But Misty knew what was going on in his mind.She gave him a moment to think, then continued.

"But luckily, I wasn't alone.Though I didn't know at the time that I was about to find a friend...well, anyway, I felt something poke me and right afterwards my arm started stinging.That startled me enough shake me out of it and I swam to the surface, though I still didn't know what to do.I was terrified; remember, it had just rained, and the river current was stronger than it usually was.But when I drifted I managed to catch hold of a rock that was sticking out of the water.When I looked at my arm, it was bleeding.Something had scratched me.

"I looked over and there was a Goldeen flapping towards me.At first I thought it was trying to attack me—what with its horn scratching my arm and all—but then it went limp, right there in the water, and the current carried it straight into me.And I mean, it _slammed into me.I was so startled that I automatically let go of the rock to catch it, and as soon as I had my arms around it, it started swimming.It had tricked me into letting it carry me and brought me right up to the shore.I couldn't believe it had saved me without even knowing who I was; it just knew I was in trouble and it could help me.Of course, I knew couldn't let a pokémon that special get away," she said, smiling."I had done that once with Horsea.But I wanted Goldeen to stay with me forever."_

"You mean..." Ash raised his eyebrows."The Goldeen you have now?It's the one who saved you?"

"That _is what I just said," Misty said."It's one and the same."_

"Oh."Ash fell silent, then looked up."But how did you...that is..." he shrugged helplessly."I still don't think I understand why you aren't scared anymore," he whispered, an almost embarrassed tone in his voice.

Misty reached out to put her hand on his shoulder.He jumped at the touch, but then relaxed, letting her keep it there."It's because I realized something that day," she said gently."My sisters had told it to me before, but it wasn't until then that I understood.The water could be a scary place, but it could be caring, too.It wasn't good or bad—just powerful.And all I had to do in order to enjoy it was to respect its power."She squeezed his shoulder and her next question told him that they both knew what this conversation had been about all along."You were scared after the houndour attacked you, weren't you?"

Ash was nodding in the affirmative before he even gave her a verbal response.His voice was wobbly in places—he wasn't used to sharing such personal things, either—but he held himself together enough to answer her."Yeah.I was, a lot.I mean, it was weird.I still loved pokémon, and I still wanted to be a master. But I was just like you. I got nervous," he said."I think it was...I had never really been hurt by a pokémon before.There were some close calls, but—even those other houndour in the woods we saw, when they attacked us, they were only trying to help their friend.But the one at Professor Oak's, it had no reason, except that it wanted to hurt me..." he hesitated.There was more to it than that, but it could wait."I knew that not all pokémon would be like that.I've met other good ones and of course all mine are great.But it made me wonder how many pokémon—or even people, if you stop to think about it—were out there like the houndour. And it scared me that I wouldn't be able to tell if they were good or bad until it was too late.Just now...when the donphan attacked...I freaked out.I didn't even know I was so scared, and all of the sudden I couldn't even do anything because of it."

"It's hard," Misty said compassionately."And you're right, its not easy not knowing what is going to happen.But the same thing that I said about water can apply to pokémon, too.A lot of pokémon can be powerful, and they're not always friendly.But you don't have to be scared of them, as long as you recognize their strength and respect them for it.Then you don't have to worry about knowing what to do, no matter what happens, because you'll have already anticipated it.

"Come to think of it, isn't that what training pokémon is all about?Respect.A pokémon won't obey its trainer if it doesn't respect him.Remember Charizard?" she punched him lightly on the shoulder and he grinned sheepishly."And a trainer has to respect it—not to mention himself—for him to earn respect himself."

He finally looked up at her again—up at her, not near her or at the ground.He still looked a little scared, but he gave her a hesitant smile."Professor Oak told me something like that, too," he said."When I went back to pick up my pokémon, he made me walk around the reserve again.We went all the way back to the houndour pen.I didn't want to, but I didn't let the Professor know that.Although I think he guessed when I yelled and jumped back when the houndour came out and charged the fence."He chuckled softly to himself.Now that he was over the embarrassment, the Professor had probably found that amusing.

"The houndour was really fierce, but the Professor had come to bring it food.And once he pulled out the package, it was amazing how much the houndour calmed down.It was still suspicious of the Professor, but it didn't growl at him anymore.The Professor threw the food over the fence and the houndour grabbed it and ran away with it.It didn't trust the Professor not to take it back."

"Remember how I said the houndour had no reason to attack me?" Ash asked.He picked at a stem of grass absentmindedly."That wasn't the whole truth.We can never know for sure what happened, but Professor Oak told me what he thought, and it made me feel sorry for the houndour.He said that he thought that it had been abused in the past and that's why it acts the way it does.He said it's called 'fight or flight.'Remember how those Lapras were so scared of us, because of the pirates?They reacted by retreating, but the houndour just reacted by fighting back.

"The Professor said that was probably why it attacked me, too.It was afraid I would hurt it and wanted to stop me before I could.The Professor said pokémon do that a lot in the wild.They cripple something that seems like a threat just enough to allow them to get away.But since the houndour hadn't been around humans much, it couldn't tell that it had hurt me as bad as it had, either.Though it may _have_ known, but it was just lashing out because of its fear or anger."

"That makes sense," Misty said."There's usually a reason that we don't know about."

"That's what the professor said," he told her."He said there was a reason for everything, we just don't always know it.But we didn't have to be scared of it , even if it was unknown.We just needed to be careful and treat it as if we already knew what it was.Or in other words, we had to respect what we didn't know.Not to mention what we did know, too."

"That's exactly what I meant," Misty said, smiling."I didn't know Professor Oak had beaten me to the punch."

"He didn't," Ash assured her."I mean, I understood what he was saying.But you were the one who helped me—don't tell him that," he said, and with a slight hint of bashfulness, went on to explain himself."It just makes you feel better when you know that a person understands not just the facts, but the way you _feel, too.They're not just pretending to understand because they've never been hurt like that.They've been there.Does that make sense?"_

"It makes absolutely perfect sense," Misty said, patting him lightly on the shoulder.Yup, he was definitely shy at being this intimate—he smiled but looked down at the ground at this, his face a subtle shade of pink.But she was glad to have helped."I have to ask.Do you feel any better now?"

"Yeah, I do."And he did look brighter."I'm not so scared anymore.And that worried me, too—just the fact that I was scared—because I want to be a pokémon master.But pokémon masters aren't supposed to be scared."

"That's not true," she, said, but delivered her contradiction in a comforting tone."What you felt was absolutely normal.It's okay to be scared.You just have to be able to put it in perspective.And in this case, respect is greater than fear."

"Right," Ash said.He sighed, then stood up and stretched.The conversation was almost over."And you know, it's not like I ever _disrespected pokémon.I've always loved being around them, and I always knew how strong they could be.You can't meet a legendary pokémon and not know that.It's just that...I had never thought about them quite that way before.Not pokémon in general.I think, if I make that one of my goals—to conscientiously respect them—things will be easier from now on."_

"And if not, you've always got me and Brock to remind you," Misty said lightly, standing up as well and brushing off the back of her shorts."Speaking of Brock, do you think he's wondering where we are?"

"Probably," Ash agreed."We should probably get back."

"Probably."They smiled at each other and started walking, but hadn't take two steps forward when Ash put his hand on Misty's shoulder and stopped her.

"Misty?" he said, dropping his hand as soon as he caught her attention and looking down awkwardly."I just wanted to say...thanks."

"I know you would have done it for me," Misty said softly."You're welcome."

"Umm...can I ask you one more thing, though?"

"What's that?"

"Do you happen to know the way back?"

"Ash!"It was amazing how quickly that boy could get her riled up.Her previous compassion switched to exasperation.And they wondered why they got lost so much...

"Well, I wasn't exactly paying attention when I came here..."

"Oh, come on you."She shook her head and took the lead.

"I guess that's a yes?"

"I said, come on!"

"Uh...thank you again?"

"ASH!JUST SHUT UP AND COME ON!"

"Alright, I guess I'll just follow you then!"

"ASH!!!"

It wasn't smart to harass the trail guide, Ash realized too late, as she turned around and gave him an evil glare, revenge written all over her face."I think it's time that I teach _you to respect __me!" she said, wiggling her fingers menacingly._

"Uh-oh..."Ash gasped as he recognized that as the dreaded 'tickle' position.He hastily tried to defend himself, knowing it was a futile cause."No, you can't do that, I'm not a baby, that doesn't work on me anymore!I promise, you can believe me, don't come any closer!Stop right there! No...don't...uh..." And then she attacked, and once again he was helpless.But _this time it was because he was laughing too hard to do anything else._

***

"I wonder what supper is?" Ash said as they approached the clearing where they had left their friend.

Misty gave him a _look but let it drop for once."Probably soup again.I think Brock still had some left over from lunch."_

"Leftovers.Yum," Ash said sarcastically.

"Hey, at least you don't have to cook it."

"No, I only have to get the firewood.But where is Brock, anyway...oh!"

"Ash, be careful!" Misty hissed, but in a low voice in order not to wake up Brock, who was sprawled out on the ground, exhausted.Ash hastily sidestepped around him, just narrowly avoiding stepping on his head.Pikachu had curled up on top of Brock's back, as he was just as tired.

"Where's Togepi?" Misty asked."Brock wouldn't have left it, would he...?"

"Priii..." A soft sigh came from inside Brock's backpack, and Misty leaned down and unsnapped the lock.Togepi lay there, talking in its sleep.After having to run off and catch it three times, Brock had shut it into his bag to prevent it from wandering off if it woke up before he did.

"You silly little egg..." she murmured affectionately."Sweet dreams."

"Well, I guess I'll be cooking the leftovers then," Misty said to Ash as she stood up."I don't think it would be right to wake Brock up, do you?

Ash made a doubtful face."He'd understand if it saved us from food poisoning.You can cook?"

"I can heat up leftovers," Misty said in a huff."Have a little faith in me, why don't you?"

"Tell you what.I'll believe it when I see it," Ash said, smirking."I suppose you want me go ahead and get that firewood then, huh?"

"It would be nice to see you _do something for a change," Misty said."Do you want me to wake up Pikachu so he can go with you?"_

"That's okay.I've got my other pokémon in case there's any trouble," he said, patting his belt.

"You always seem to find it," she said, then gave him a more serious look."You will be okay...?"

"I'll be fine.I respect my pokémon and I respect myself!" he said, striking a muscle man pose.Misty laughed out loud then clapped her hand over her mouth, almost forgetting that Brock was asleep.

"Well, good.You know what my sister told me once?" she said in a normal voice."Respect is the first step towards love.Maybe that's why you love pokémon so much."

Ash tilted his head."The first step towards love.You know, I like that.Maybe so.You just may be right."He started to walk off, then turned around to tease her."But you know, you don't follow your own advice very well."

"How's that?" she asked, taking it upon herself to rummage around Brock's pack for a snack to eat while she waited for Ash to get back.

"Well, you don't respect me as a pokémon trainer," he said.

And she had to laugh as he promptly missed a step, his head swiveling around in blushing surprise as she answered him with a wink.

"Now who's the silly egg?Whoever says I don't?"

**The End**

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Conclusion:He he, did you get it?_Respect_ is the first step to love…Misty _respects_ Ash?Ha ha…sorry, just had to beat you over the head with it…I'm so proud of that line…^_^

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Pokémon Did-You-Know:Japanese have a special headband that they call the Hachimaka.Besides its practical use of keeping sweat away from the eyes, traditionally it has the symbolic use of denoting studiousness and professionalism—like wearing a "Closed Study" or "Do Not Disturb" sign on your forehead.This may explain the headband in Tracey's outfit, as a pokémon watcher is continually working, and Tracey himself is always drawing in his notebook.Then again—maybe it's just Tracey.^_~

Whoah-oh, I reached the end!Sorry again for the delay…my Microsoft Word program is _still_ messed up.There was a lot of extrapolation of Misty's past in this part, but hey…it was six years ago.Hopefully it didn't bother you too much.And btw, no, I don't think it's out of character for Ash to be scared after a serious accident.Anyone who has ever been in a car accident can sympathize with me, that rationality isn't always a factor in your emotions afterwards…^_^;

Thanks for all your reviews and comments.I've replied to some of them, and I've received replies back on most.If you haven't heard back from me yet on _those_, please forgive me.I'm an American, and after Tuesday's horrible attack, it's been hard to focus on getting things done.I pray that all of you are safe, and that God may be with everyone who was affected.See you next time.

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